This invention relates to a connection including a sheet metal strap for attaching the vertical members of a wood frame structure to a concrete foundation.
It is common practice to lay a wood mudsill board on top of a concrete foundation and then to toenail vertical wood stud members to the mudsill. In those areas of the country subject to earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, flood, or tidal action which impose upward forces on the building structure it is standard practice to tie the structure to the concrete foundation.
The most commonly used system is to insert threaded bolts into the concrete, bore holes in the mudsill, insert the upstanding bolts through the holes and fasten the mudsill to the bolts with threaded nuts and washers. One piece sheet metal anchors have been embedded in the concrete and the straps nailed to the mudsill. These systems lack the ability to tie the studs directly to the foundation.
Another recently devised system requires the use of threaded bolts anchored in the foundation and an angled holdown is attached to the bolt at the seat portion and the upper portion is either bolted or nailed to the inside face of the vertical wood stud. This system is widely used and is satisfactory except for the fact that it is costly to accurately position the anchor bolts in the concrete, drill holes in the mudsill at just the right place and then attach the heavy holdown member to the bolt and to the vertical wood stud.
Still another system is to embed a strap member in the concrete and then nail or bolt the strap to the vertical wood stud. This system is relatively inexpensive, but the strap can only be attached to the outside edge of the vertical wood stud which makes it difficult, if not impossible to nail siding or plywood shear wall panels to the outside of the wood stud.
The situation is exacerbated when it is necessary to interpose a rim joist subfloor and floor plate between the stud and the mud sill. The anchor bolt and holdown system is far too cumbersome to use and the holdown strap system attached to the outside of the structure renders even more outside surface difficult, if not impossible to attach to.